Product Description

“Finding stone, choosing it, and letting go of it are the three things a waller does. I’d miss any one of them too much if I asked someone else to do them for me. I may work by myself, but I’m not alone. I’m in the company of stone.”

Dan Snow is a waller, an artisan who builds walls, terraces, caverns, and the occasional sphere or pool out of dry stone. It’s an ancient skill—building with only what the earth provides. No mortar, no nails, nothing to hold his creations together except gravity, an invisible glue he can sense in the stones’ “conversations” of squeaks and rumbles. A hollow sound means a void needs to be filled; a solid fit is secured with the sound of a bolt being thrown.

Snow’s evocative prose and Peter Mauss’s richly textured photographs of Snow’s work reveal the nuance and beauty of walling—and of one man’s relationship with nature. The result is by turns poetic and practical.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46190 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Amazon.com Review
Dan Snow builds stone walls without benefit of mortar or other binding material. This ancient dry-stone method is experiencing a revival, and Snow's In the Company of Stone is full of moody photos of recent landscape projects, some of which look as if they'd been part of the scenery for centuries. Snow's poetic commentary and a helpful appendix of design detail make for an inspiring, informative book.

From Booklist
Although some sculptors choose to subtract--carving away at a block to reveal the form concealed within--others, like Snow, fabricate works that reach fruition by way of an additive process. The compellingly tactile quality of stone entices Snow to build drystone walls and other structures, sometimes crafting such autonomous shapes as spheres. Likening the process of walling to alchemy, Snow conveys a boundless delight with his occupation. Whether describing the material that occupies his days, or expressing intricate knowledge of how stone responds at each stage of construction, Snow writes beautifully. Befitting the narrative, a felicitous clarity distinguishes Peter Mauss' black-and-white photographs and beguiling color images, all of which reveal Snow's profound artistry at work. In all, this handsome book discloses the potency of stone as displayed in the deftly crafted walls and staircases, raised planting beds, and fanciful grotto that enhance the houses, gardens, and open landscapes of Snow's fortunate clients. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A fascinating work [with] spectacular photographs."
—Sacramento Bee (Sacramento Bee )

"In this artful tome, stone walls are not just linear boundary markers, but sinuous, wandering creatures."
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

"Snow nestles his practical depictions of design within rhapsodies about earth and stone and man."
—Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe New Mexican )

"The prose weaves between practical and poetic with the same gentle twists as an old field wall, inspiration to armchair waller and budding artisan alike."
—Washington Post (The Washington Post )

A fascinating work [with] spectacular photographs. Sacramento Bee (Sacramento Bee )

In this artful tome, stone walls are not just linear boundary markers, but sinuous, wandering creatures. Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

Snow nestles his practical depictions of design within rhapsodies about earth and stone and man. Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe New Mexican )

The prose weaves between practical and poetic with the same gentle twists as an old field wall, inspiration to armchair waller and budding artisan alike. Washington Post (The Washington Post )

Customer Reviews

The Art of the Stone Wall
Want to learn how to make a stone wall a piece of art instead of construction? Dan Snow will guide you in this book. A book very strong in artistic expression, not construction technique. One excellent resource is the detail in the back which provides important information on how long each project took, stone sources, and construction methods. Photographer understands the art of stone because he uses his art well to express the art of the stone. You may not learn a whole lot, but you will be inspired, and thats the strength of his work!Its not construction, its truely ART!

Inspiring
Many books explain the "how-to" of stonework; in this book Dan Snow explains the "why". The reader gets a glimpse of the creative possibilities of stone. Excellent photography; inspiring. This book is a "must-have" for anyone interested in stonework.

In the Company of Stone: Wonderful Coffee Table Book
Being a native resident of Vermont this book is very precious to me. I lived on a dairy farm with dry stone walls that were very plain. Dan Snow made the process into an art form as well as for practical use. The back of the book gives locations of some of his work here in VT and NH and I look forward to seeing some of it next summer. This book is one that should sit on a coffee table to be picked up and scanned by your guests rather than sitting on a bookcase shelf. The book is not only about the work of Dan Snow but a showcase of the photos by Peter Mauss, in color as well as black & white. It is a book you will treasure.